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Classical Music Guides & Reviews

DonH56

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Stereophile publishes reviews. Our own @Kal Rubinson has published his own list that includes multichannel/SACD recordings.
 

Daverz

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I said in my post that at CD rate and above there are no gaps with Qobuz. With their lossy rates, there were gaps when I had the service.

Ah, sorry for misreading you. I've never used the lossy service.
 

Hugo9000

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Ah, sorry for misreading you. I've never used the lossy service.
No problem. I tested all of their stream levels with the official Qobuz app (on Windows 10) during the closed Beta. They occasionally broke gapless playback with the Hi-Res streams during the process of changes and bugfixes, but they were prompt to address it, usually within hours of my reporting it. I had hoped that their lossy service would also allow proper gapless playback so that I could recommend it to friends in place of Spotify Premium, but they told me they didn't plan to change the lossy service at that time. I'm sure with time they will fix some of the search shortcomings by adjusting tagging or other things.

I do like that Qobuz staff respond to users and try to make improvements based on feedback. I don't see Amazon giving anything close to that level of interest in what regular people have to say lol. Perhaps Amazon will prove me wrong. Qobuz has a couple of people that monitor and participate in threads over at Audiophile Style (formerly Computer Audiophile).
 

JJB70

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I find that most recordings have some merit and I don't listen to that many that I would describe as bad.
A lot depends on the music you like and whether you like period performance or big orchestra performance etc. You will probably find that you tend to like the performances of certain conductors but you really need to find your own favourites as it is such a subjective and personal thing. In the 60's through to the 90's labels milked a small number of superstar conductors for all they were worth and created an immense back catalogue of recordings which for the most part were solid and well recorded. Especially Herbert von Karajan but also names like Karl Bohm, Claudio Abbado, Leonard Bernstein, Georg Solti, Andre Previn, James Levine etc. At that time recordings were being pumped out and it is quite staggering just how prolific some of these conductors were. There are now lots of super box sets based on the recordings of that era which allow you to basically buy a very respectable and comprehensive collection for peanuts.
I still like George Szell, he left a rich legacy of recordings with the Cleveland orchestra, and it is well worth buying the complete Carlos Kleiber set on DG. Kleiber only made a handful of recordings but some of them were remarkable and remain essential listening. These days it seems fashionable to knock von Karajan but at his best he was very good indeed. If you like Bruckner or Richard Strauss then you should listen to Karajan's recordings.
I am a bit like Hugo in that I have accumulated Lord knows how many CDs since the 80's and although I listen mainly to the ripped FLAC files I still prefer this to streaming.
 
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MRC01

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... Anywho, thanks to all of those headaches with streaming, I just went back to listening to my CDs. I realize that's not an answer for most people who haven't had 30+ years to acquire 3000+ CDs of the greatest classical recordings. ...
My collection is about half that size, but I feel like I've only scratched the surface. I know there's a lot more music and performances worth listening to -- but how to find these drops in the vast sea of classical works and performances?

... For example the Hyperion label does not stream anywhere. ... Regarding reviews: They are unnecessary in the age of streaming.
That's a shame, because Hyperion has some great artists and consistently high quality recordings. And buying them as FLAC downloads is cheaper than buying discs. The streaming discussion here has really got me thinking: I agree it's changed everything about how to approach classical music, there are so many works and recordings, nobody could review them all -- you just have to have a way to sample them.

... BTW, to my ears, in my very expensive stereo system, 320bps streaming is indistinguishable from CD playback...
I have to concur that, at least for me, distinguishing between Spotify, at 320 kbps, and lossless, would be very challenging.
320 kbps MP3 is not transparent. I can differentiate it in ABX testing, with suitable recordings. I agree it is challenging (at least for me, if not for everyone), requiring careful listening. That's not a "golden ears" claim, as most trained listeners can do this, including several people at this site, so long as they're playing suitable material for the ABX test. However, fully transparent sound quality would not be a requirement for me when streaming; 320 kbps would be good enough. If I hear something I like on streaming, I'll buy the recording (whether on CD or download).
 

Daverz

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I agree with the earlier sentiments that record critics are less necessary these days. In the old days, even if you knew you were likely to enjoy a new release based on the artists, you'd at least want to know if artists or engineers were having an off day before plunking down your cash. Now you can just sample the whole thing, perhaps even in hi-rez.

However, that doesn't much help the beginner faced with dozens of different recordings for any piece of standard repertoire, and even the seasoned listener is not going to be able to sift through the hundreds (thousands?) of releases in any given year. So I think there is still very much a place for record critics.
 
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... For example the Hyperion label does not stream anywhere. ...
Perhaps that is changing. I found at least 1 Hyperion recording, Grace Davidson singing Dowland. I bought this directly from Hyperion last year and happened to find it on both Primephonic and Idagio.
 

ChrisH

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Classical music review is generally trash. I doubt the majority of these reviewers can even read an score. It would be nice if we held music reviewers to the same standard that Amir has brought to equipment reviews; something a little more objective in it's approach.

The best thing a new listener of classical music can do is ignore all of the conductors who have been pushed forward by marketing.
 

Ceburaska

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Perhaps that is changing. I found at least 1 Hyperion recording, Grace Davidson singing Dowland. I bought this directly from Hyperion last year and happened to find it on both Primephonic and Idagio.
I think that’s a Signum recording. They get sold on the Hyperion site but aren’t full fat Hyperion so appear on streaming services, I believe.
 

Ceburaska

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Classical music review is generally trash. I doubt the majority of these reviewers can even read an score. It would be nice if we held music reviewers to the same standard that Amir has brought to equipment reviews; something a little more objective in it's approach.

The best thing a new listener of classical music can do is ignore all of the conductors who have been pushed forward by marketing.
I’m intrigued what these objective standards would be. I assume you mean objective reviews of music (Amit does ditto for equipment). Or do you mean objective reviews of reviewers? Either way, what would these look like?
 

ChrisH

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I’m intrigued what these objective standards would be. I assume you mean objective reviews of music (Amit does ditto for equipment). Or do you mean objective reviews of reviewers? Either way, what would these look like?
An objective review would involve actually reading through the score and seeing what it actually asks for and comparing it to what the conductor put forward. Most reviews tend to deal with feelings and comparing/contrast of other recordings. Why do you need this when you have the score, the recordings should be compared to the score, not to each other. The score gives you a base to work from. Following along with the score while listening is one of the most enlightening experiences on can have while doing some serious listening.
They should also be listening blind, not knowing who they are listening too. Only after they completed the review, would they learn the conductor/orchestra that they were listening too.

It would also be interesting to know what equipment the reviewers listen on, and maybe a little about the room. Graphs from REW would be amazing.
 
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...
It would also be interesting to know what equipment the reviewers listen on, and maybe a little about the room. Graphs from REW would be amazing.
That would be useful. Judging from what I read, many reviewers must be listening on low to mid fi equipment. What sounds good there is often different from what sounds good on a true high fi system.
 

Ron Texas

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Sales of classical music in recent years have been very low. I guess there is only so much in the genre, it's mostly been recorded multiple times, and it isn't easy to do anything really new.
 

Kal Rubinson

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Sales of classical music in recent years have been very low. I guess there is only so much in the genre, it's mostly been recorded multiple times, and it isn't easy to do anything really new.
I cannot deny your first statement but it has never been easy to do anything new. Nonetheless, there is the opportunity to do something really superb and refreshing in much better sound than was possible in the past.
 

Ron Texas

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I cannot deny your first statement but it has never been easy to do anything new. Nonetheless, there is the opportunity to do something really superb and refreshing in much better sound than was possible in the past.

I mostly agree, but it's extra difficult when dealing with well known and beloved pieces which have been around since before recorded music. There is some more recently composed music in the classical genre which is pretty interesting. Hopefully, there are some young musicians out there who are under the radar today but will rise to the top like cream in a few years. I might have met one and didn't know it when I was in Aspen last month.
 
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The selection is by definition finite, but pragmatically speaking this is not a limiting factor for the listener. There are many thousands of different pieces from different composers, nobody could listen to them all in a lifetime. And many of these works have enough artistic depth that one must have several different performances just to experience what they have to say. And listening more, gaining experience, hones our perception so we come back to a piece after time and discover that it has something new to say.
 

Guermantes

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I often use the Presto Classical site:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical

If I am interested in a particular piece, I do a site search then look at their "recommended" recordings. The listings will often include snippets of reviews from other sources such as BBC Music, Gramophone, the Penguin Guide, etc. I then use this as guide for further investigation of the recordings and to find what might be the best format available via other sites.

I'm a great fan of 20th and 21st century art music, in fact Bartok and Messiaen were my entryways into "classical" music when I was a teenager. For the genre to flourish, new music needs to be written and new composers need to produce masterpieces that reflect the age they live in. Otherwise it will become a museum of beautiful things which, while lovely, is rather sad.
 

Kal Rubinson

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I mostly agree, but it's extra difficult when dealing with well known and beloved pieces which have been around since before recorded music.
Not for me. Today, after some time with the newly remixed Abbey Road in 5.1, I listened to all of Weber's Der Freischutz in a new MCH set from Pentatone. That provoked me to survey and sample several other recordings of Der Freischutz and I enjoyed them all but in different ways.
 
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rodtor

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For the genre to flourish, new music needs to be written and new composers need to produce masterpieces that reflect the age they live in. Otherwise it will become a museum of beautiful things which, while lovely, is rather sad.

Very much agree. And new art music can be fascinating.
 

Ron Texas

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Not for me. Today, after some time with the newly remixed Abbey Road in 5.1, I listened to all of Weber's Der Freischutz in a new MCH set from Pentatone. That provoked me to survey and sample several other recordings of Der Freischutz and I enjoyed them all but in different ways.

OK, now I have to look for Weber's Der Freischutz. Is the new Abbey Road out yet?
 
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